Two Kinds of Magic
by saturday.conspiracy
Summary: AU. Noah Run, daughter of Hecate, got her wish and got into Hogwarts. But she didn't expect all the complications to come with that. Like Voldemort wanting revenge on her mom. Or her crush on Gryffindor's know-it-all. REVISED AGAIN
1. Shoelaces

_DISCLAIMER: I don't own_ _Percy Jackson_ _or_ _Harry Potter_ _._

* * *

 **Chapter One**

 **Shoelaces**

The only time Noah was ever certain that she was a child of Hecate, goddess of magic and witchcraft, was when she was tying her shoelaces.

A tingling rush would course through her veins and send warm shivers into her fingertips—then her laces would lift themselves from their limp state and form a sturdy knot that would last all day as she ran from the lava on the climbing wall, had her foot stepped on by the pegasi in the stables, and got her butt handed to her in sword fighting matches against one of the Stoll brothers from Cabin 11.

Noah stood hunched over in the sand pit, gasping for breath. Her ears were still ringing from the sound of clashing metal as another one of her attacks was blocked. She turned back to look at Connor, and he smiled smugly.

"Come on, I gave you enough time to block that one."

"Suuure you did," she wheezed. "Anyway, that was…a l-lucky shot."

Connor snorted at this. "More like seventeen lucky shots."

She took a deep breath and winced, deciding to swallow her next remark. She couldn't help but be a little jealous at his athletic build even though he was only thirteen. They'd been going at this for an hour and he had yet to break a sweat. Meanwhile, loose strands of her disheveled, black hair—same as her mother's—clung to her dark forehead and when she licked her lips, they tasted salty. Her eyes were like her father's, dark chocolate and squinting against the blazing Long Island sun.

Anyway, she hated sword fighting, but it was either this or sit in meditation for two hours with her own siblings. Swords were heavy and she couldn't get used to the feeling of swinging them around Connor, on the other hand, looked perfectly comfortable with his Celestial Bronze short sword—a gift from his dad, Hermes. It must've felt nice to know that at least one of your parents acknowledged your existence by giving you a cool magical item.

Even her half-sister, Lou Ellen, had gotten something from their mom. It was a glittery silver hair scrunchy that not only kept her hair out of her face, but also boosted her magic powers by five times. The best part was that none of her siblings could "borrow" it without permission from her. Anybody who tried would find their body parts rearranged for the next two hours. It was this that made her the automatic counselor for Cabin 20.

"Ow! J-Jeez, Connor!" she cried, clutching her throbbing leg where a large bruise was already forming.

"Sorry! I thought you at least saw _that_ one coming," he drawled.

She tried to glare at him, but it didn't work as well since her eyes were still watering. Connor only laughed and held his hands up in mock surrender.

"Ok, ok, just kidding! We can stop here."

Almost too relieved, she let the training sword slip from her grasp and collapsed onto her sore rear end, not caring that sand was getting into her clothes.

He rolled his mischievous blue eyes as he twirled his sword around.

 _Showoff_ , she thought irritably.

"You've got to be the most out of shape demigod ever."

"Yeah well, n-not all of us can b-be related to the god of athletes," she mumbled after she had finally caught her breath.

"You're right. I _am_ pretty gifted."

She only rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but grin.

"I don't get it," she said finally, "I mean, why did you…wh-why are you even…" She trailed off, trying to find the right words, but then shook her head.

"What?" Connor stabbed his sword into the sand and sat down beside her. "Just say it."

Biting her lip, Noah hesitated again before speaking up. "Why did you even ask me to do this? Since I'm from Cabin 20 and all…"

Connor didn't answer right away, watching her dig the heel of her shoe in the sand as she waited for the uncomfortable silence to end. Of course he knew what she was getting at.

After Kronos was defeated and the Second Titan War finally brought to an end, all the minor gods and goddesses had been given cabins in Camp Half-Blood, even those who had sided with Kronos. Despite this peace offering, it didn't change the fact that many of the original campers had lost brothers and sisters in the war. While there were never any outright fights or attacks against campers of the new cabins, especially since Chiron kept a careful eye on things, tension still ran high and wounds from the war were not easily healed.

Finally, Connor answered,

"Look, Noah…I just needed a sparring partner and you offered." He pushed his curly, brown hair out of his eyes and flashed his famous crooked grin. "Besides, anyone who can blast a dresser through a wall is cool with me."

Before Noah could splutter out any kind of argument, someone called her name,

"There you are, Noah!"

She and Connor jumped up and turned around where Simon, her older half-brother, was jogging towards them. He was a weedy-looking boy with the same green eyes as their mom and a sly, pointy face like a rat that made it seem like he was planning to turn someone into a garden slug.

"Why? What is it?" Noah asked him, slapping sand off her shorts.

"You've got, uh, something waiting for you back at the cabin. Come on before Lou Ellen gets even more ticked off."

And before she could open her mouth to ask him what he was talking about, her grabbed her by the arm and dragged her off.

 **O0O0O0O**

"Whoa…hope this doesn't turn out like the dresser thing," Connor said, staring blankly along with the rest of camp.

Perched on the roof of Hecate's cabin were at least twenty owls, all looking very unconcerned with the confused campers below or the stocky, red-faced teen yelling at them.

"Sh-Shut up about that. _I_ don't even know what's going on," Noah moaned as her cheeks burned and she looked at her feet.

The "dresser thing" had been over a month ago, but she should've known that she'd never live it down.

There was a magnificent golden dresser in the Hecate cabin which could do magical laundry so that every camper who opened their personal drawer would find their clothes fresh and neatly folded inside every other week. It also added a new drawer whenever another child of Hecate was claimed.

Noah had tried to make it levitate one morning after Simon had been teasing her again about her lack of magical skills. Even though she managed to prove him wrong and lift it off the ground for about two seconds, it still went flying through the window, taking out a huge chunk of the wall with it.

Chiron had not been amused, to say the least. Nor had the other five campers who'd been blasted twenty feet into the air thanks to the magic stones the cabin was made of.

 _At least no one turned into a tree_ , she wanted to argue. But she kept her mouth shut and tried not to die from embarrassment.

"Noah, what're you trying to pull here?"

Her head snapped up as Lou Ellen towered over her now that she had given up on screaming at the owls.

"M-Me? I haven't—how sh-should I know what's going on?" Noah spluttered, taking a half-step back.

"Yeah! How can you be so sure it's her fault?" Connor piped up. "Maybe she's been cursed by Athena."

"Not helping," Noah muttered. Though some part of her wondered if he could've been right.

She was still learning how to survive the reality of demigods and Greek mythology-turned-real, but one of the things she had learned right away was that the gods were temperamental and would have no trouble turning on you for whatever reason.

"Not her fault? There's a letter inside with _her_ name on it, so who else could it be?" Lou Ellen snapped at Connor. Then she turned back to Noah. "Did you try a summoning spell after I specifically told you _not to_?"

"A letter? I don't—" But then realization hit her harder than Connor had earlier and she ran towards the cabin, not caring about all the eyes watching her back.

 _It can't be_ , she told herself.

The letter should have come on her eleventh birthday months ago. She remembered waiting all day and night for it, but to no avail. No letter and no explanation, only bitter disappointment that gnawed away at her. She knew her dad had felt the same way even when he tried to comfort her and tell her not to be upset, that maybe a mistake had been made.

And because she hadn't gotten her letter, he sent her to Camp while he moved back to England to get on with the rest of his life. He'd tried to cover it up with some stupid excuse in a note saying he was doing it to keep her safe, but she could still visit whenever she wanted.

Visit only. Not to come back and live with him anymore.

He'd even scribbled his new address on a separate piece of paper, but she hadn't written back to him. There were some days she thought she would, but she forgot about it as soon as she started up another day of training.

Yet there it was—a thick, yellowed envelope with a purple wax seal of an elegant crest: a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large 'H.' Loopy green handwriting danced in front of her searching eyes, but she managed to make out what it said.

Noah Run

Half-Blood Hill

USA Long Island, New York

Cabin #20

She ignored Lou Ellen calling her from outside, demanding again to know what magic spell she had screwed up this time and tore into the letter with growing hope and fear.

 _Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

 _Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

 _To N. Run,_

 _It is our pleasure to inform you that you've been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Enclosed are a list of required items and textbooks you will need. The term begins 1 September and your reply is expected no later than 31 July._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress_

It took her an extra minute or so the get through the whole letter, but with each line her eyes grew wider and wider. This was really happening. It wasn't her ADHD acting up or the Mist playing tricks on her. She vaguely heard the sound of wings flapping in the wind as the owls flew off.

 **O0O0O0O**

The rest of the day passed in a blur and even though Noah went on with her normal routine, it all felt so alien and distant to her with the Hogwarts letter tucked into her pocket so she could read through it again in between activities.

She couldn't even join in on the campfire songs, her mind too far away. She didn't know what scared her more, having to write her dad or the possibility of her wish was actually coming true and that she'd get to go to the magical school she'd grown up hearing about. She'd even asked her mom for guidance in a silent prayer as she gave her offering to the gods at dinner.

 _Please help me figure out what to do._

She'd never had any real contact with the goddess before and wasn't sure whether to expect a sudden epiphany or to be struck by lightning as some kind of sign. If something was supposed to happen, it didn't.

It wasn't until the nighttime sky was littered with stars and the rest of camp was quiet that she sat on the front steps outside her cabin with a pen and paper. She spent a few minutes looking for different constellations before finally clenching the pen in her hand.

 _Dear Dad,_

 _It's_ _Noah._ _How_ _are_ _you?_ _Sorry_ _I_ _haven't_ _written back to_ _you_ _until_ _now_ —a part of her wasn't really, but it was the best transition she could come up with— _but_ _I_ _got_ _my_ _Hogwarts_ _letter_ _today._

 _I would like to go, but I don't know how I'll manage the trip and everything. If you could help me out, thank you. If it's too much trouble, that's ok too. Hope you're ok and I still have your letter._

 _Noah_

She stared at her writing, feeling her eyes prickle when she got to the last line. She didn't know why she put that, only that maybe he should know. And _Love,_ _Noah_ would've been weird to use, she decided.

"Ok, that's done," she sighed to herself.

So she carefully folded the letter and went back inside, actually starting to feel a little better.

* * *

 _A/N: Thanks for reading and let me know what you think! My main focus is to keep Noah from being a Mary-Sue as much as possible so you'll want to continue reading about her. See you in chapter 2 where she finally meets Hermione._


	2. The Know It All

_DISCLAIMER: I don't own_ _Percy Jackson_ _or_ _Harry Potter_ _._

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

 **The Know-It-All**

Two weeks later, Noah arrived in England, wishing she knew a spell for jetlag.

Right away, she had spotted everything wrong with London from its murky weather, to the buzzing traffic crammed in narrow streets, to her dad's house.

It was bigger than Cabin 20 and she had her own room: an attic loft where she had to be careful not to sit up too fast in her bed—which was just a mattress crammed between walls—or else bang her head against the low ceiling. There was a small window that let enough sunlight come in, and a low, four-cabinet dresser sitting in a nearby corner. The whole place smelled nothing like their old home, but like teabags and old parchment. The fire place was empty; the dishes washed themselves over the kitchen sink; and his paperwork signed itself in the corner of his study.

Her dad, Efren Run, had apologized multiple times that there wasn't anything better, but she only shook her head.

"N-no. I-I'm fine, Dad. Really," she answered, not even looking at him as she examined her surroundings.

Of course, that was a lie.

Every time she looked around the house, her stomach twisted into knots.

Nervous? Not even close. More like terrified out of her wits. Being alone with her own father was worse than being alone with Mr. D, the camp director.

"And that's saying something," she grumbled to herself.

"What was that?" her dad asked, trying to read her with puzzled eyes.

"Nothing."

He had the same brown, round face as hers and the same awkward, lanky build but his shoulders were much broader and six feet high above the ground. No matter how many times she told herself he was still the same father she had before going to Camp, it sometimes felt like she was living with a complete stranger.

She didn't see much of him over the next few days since he was mostly at work until late, but when Saturday finally came around, she eagerly kicked her blankets off and threw on a pair of jeans and sneakers, and released the wooden stairs. Today was her first real trip into the wizarding world!

"Noah! Aren't you up yet?" her dad called from below.

"Coming!" she yelled back.

He was waiting impatiently with the radio playing behind him.

"Ah, about time, Noah. Are you ready?" He flicked the radio off and held up a small bag that jingled with coins.

"Yeah…sure." This was the only thing that had kept her from going crazy at being cooped up in the house for the past few days.

He had told her all about Diagon Alley when she was younger. About the cobblestone streets and how there were magical shops at every corner. Witches, wizards, goblins, and all other kinds of creatures would go there and it was impossible to see everything it had to offer in one day. Her excitement only grew as they headed down the street because in just a few moments, she was going to see it all.

 **O0O0O0O**

Located behind a small pub called the Leaky Cauldron in a quieter corner of London, Diagon Alley was everything Noah had imagined. The gloomy weather had cleared until it was cloudless and the streets seemed to glow in the sunlight.

She kept pointing out random things and asking her dad about them, but he only urged her to keep up and not stare at the hags, who were easily offended.

They made their way down her school supplies list and by the time they finally came to the bookstore, Flourish and Blotts, Noah was already yawning and ready to relax after the day's excitement. She was just glad her dad had magicked all of her items back to the house or she would've collapsed under the weight of all her new school supplies.

As soon as she stepped through the store entrance, her dad spun around.

"There you are, Noah! Why don't you wait here for me while I get your textbooks, hmm?"

"I can help find them—"

"There's a good girl. I'll be back in a jiffy."

Once he disappeared into the store, Noah spun on her heel and wandered off along the aisles of bookshelves. At least with her dad distracted, it gave her a chance to do some exploring without him getting impatient with her for straying behind.

She had always liked to read and often borrowed books from the Athena's cabin library. They only cost her a drachma and a majority of them were in ancient Greek, which meant that she could breeze through a couple of titles each week. She skimmed through a few of the large magic books before she spotted a section in the far corner of the store labeled MUGGLE LITERATURE.

There was already another girl standing there, about her age and with hair wilder than Lou Ellen's, flipping through a heavy black book that seemed to have collected some dust. Noah noticed that a lot of the shelves and books in this section were in serious need of a wipe up compared to ones throughout the store.

"Wow, it's just like my copy at home…" she heard the girl muttering to herself and couldn't help but glance over her shoulder only to see a short inscription in the book, written in ancient Greek.

"' _And_ _thus_ _I_ _shall_ _relate_ _to_ _you_ _the_ _trials_ _and_ _tribulations_ _of_ _Odysseus_ _as_ _he_ _struggles_ _to_ _return_ _to_ _his great_ _homeland_ _of_ _Ithaca_ ,'" she read aloud, the Greek writing making perfect sense to her.

"Is that what it _really_ says?"

Noah looked up and saw the girl pinpointing her with a skeptical look as she hugged the book close to her to make sure Noah couldn't see the writing again, as if she'd been cheating on a pop quiz.

Startled, Noah's mouth bobbed open and closed, her words sticking in her throat. "I-I-It was just a guess!" she quickly blurted. "I-I can't actually read ancient Greek. No one can 'cause it's ancient and…stuff."

Blushing, she looked away, but the girl only smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Well, I know that, but you sounded awfully sure of yourself," she said. "Have you read _The Odyssey_ before?"

Grateful that she didn't have to explain anymore, Noah mustered up some courage to glance back at the girl for a better view of her face. She was actually quite pretty even with her large front teeth, and her smile seemed to light up her round face. There was a sense of wisdom behind those warm, brown eyes that was a lot like the Athena kids.

"Uh, yeah," she said, shaking herself out of her daze. "A couple of times...f-for school."

Those last words were a quick save since it would've been pretty hard to explain that she lived at a summer camp where she'd been taught the language by a thousand-year-old centaur. It seemed to work because the girl perked up at this.

"So you're normal too? Like me? Are you going to Hogwarts too?" The words rushed out of her mouth so suddenly that it took Noah a moment to translate them.

"Um, no to the first question, but yes to the last one. I'm…a…half-blood. Yeah, that's right! A half-blood!" She nodded excitedly, realizing she didn't have to lie this time. "My dad's a muggle-born wizard, though."

"Muggle…?" The girl frowned slightly.

"Yeah. Muggle is what you'd call a non-magical person," Noah explained. "So his p-parents weren't magical, but he is, l-like y-you. Get it?" She felt a weird quiver in her stomach watching the girl carefully absorb her words. It was kind of nice to know that she still remembered some things about the wizarding world so she didn't look like a complete idiot.

"Ok, I do remember Professor McGonagall saying something like that…" The girl trailed off in thought for a moment before tentatively sticking her hand out to Noah. "I'm Hermione Granger," she said, tilting her chin up.

Noah blinked, her brain stopping long enough that she almost forgot how to respond to a handshake. Finally, she took the girl's hand with a firm enough grip to make sure this wasn't a dream.

"N-Noah R-Run." She mentally scolded herself for stuttering like a dork at a time like this.

Never in her life had she made a friend this easily before. At her old elementary school, she was the stuttering oddball. At Camp…well, not everyone was a fan of Cabin 20. And it wasn't that she didn't get along with her half-siblings. They had gone out of their way to make her feel welcomed when she first arrived. Yet at the same time, it was strange to think that they had all been complete strangers their whole lives until only a few months ago. And their main connection was an immortal mother who never bothered to call or even send a greeting card.

"Noah. That's a nice name," Hermione said, cutting into her thoughts. "And your accent is really neat too. Are you from here?"

Noah's first thought was that she liked the way her name rolled off the girl's tongue with such ease.

"N-No, but my dad is. I grew up in America with...my…r-r-relatives." Once again, she'd just barely caught herself in her answers. "Anyway, I-I like your name too," she added quietly, staring down at their holding hands.

As much as she didn't want to, she had to let go when Hermione moved to put the book back on the shelf.

"Well, I just read through all of _Hogwarts,_ _A_ _History_ a few minutes ago and I don't remember seeing anywhere that Hogwarts accepted American students," Hermione went on a little obnoxiously.

Noah just shrugged. "It might be because m-my dad went t-to school there."

"I got my letter not very long ago, but I was ever so pleased when I found out I was a witch. Maybe a little surprised too"—but she actually sounded like she'd been expecting a letter all along—"England must be different from where you're from."

Noah didn't dare mention that she had thought she would never get a letter as she nodded. "It's pretty cool. It's not th-th-that different actually, except for the whole driving on the l-left thing. It kind of made me dizzy when I first got here."

To her surprise and excitement, Hermione giggled at this and she found herself wanting to do nothing more than to listen to the melodic sound all day. Pretty soon she joined in too.

"Getting on well without me already, Noah?"

Both girls turned around and saw Noah's dad standing there with an armful of books.

"Hey, Dad. This is Hermione," Noah proudly presented her new friend.

"Nice to meet you, Hermione," he said. "Are you going to Hogwarts too? Noah, we really need to go get your wand. It's the last thing left on the list."

She started to open her mouth to protest having to leave so suddenly, even though her dad seemed to have already forgotten about Hermione in his hurry. To her greater horror, Hermione was also saying,

"Well, I'll let you go, Noah. I should actually find Professor McGonagall so I can get my wand too."

"Why don't we go together?" Noah blurted, already blushing at her own audacity.

She was actually enjoying her new, albeit bossy, companion and wanted it to last as long as possible, especially if it kept her from being alone with her dad again for the rest of the day.

What if they never saw each other again at Hogwarts?

Even Hermione seemed a bit taken aback by the sudden invitation though a small smile formed on her lips.

Now it was her turn to stutter. "I-I don't know, Noah. I'll have to ask."

Noah anxiously clenched her hands as soon as Hermione disappeared into the bookstore. She came back seconds later with a tall, sour-faced woman whose black hair was pulled back into a tight bun and a pair of square spectacles shielded her emerald eyes, which also matched her robes.

"Ah! Professor McGonagall, how are you?"

Noah looked up to see her dad smiling brightly at the witch as he nodded his head in greeting. "Do you remember me? Efren Run. I was in Ravenclaw."

He started to extend his hand for her to shake it, but the books he carried teetered dangerously to the side so he hurried to adjust them.

"Ah yes, Efren, I do remember you. You scored very well on your NEWTs. Top seven percent of your class," McGonagall replied politely.

"Top five percent actually," Efren quickly added, and then cleared his throat. "But that was years ago, you know. Are you still teaching Transfiguration?"

"Of course." Her eyes glanced over Noah, who was fidgeting impatiently. "And it seems as though your daughter will be in my class this year."

"Yes, yes, I wouldn't have it any other way. You were one of my favorite teachers," Efren said.

McGonagall gave a stiff smile. "I appreciate that, Mr. Run. I'm sure with hard work, she'll perform as well as you did," she said.

Noah found she didn't like the way the woman was sizing her up with those beady, calculating eyes and secretly wondered if it was possible for her to switch out of Transfiguration as soon as she got to school. She also couldn't believe that Hermione was looking up at the witch with such admiration.

"Professor, this is Noah. Can I go with her to get my wand? I-It won't take long, I promise." Hermione spoke in a rush again, which softened McGonagall's face for the first time as she looked down at the brunette.

"I don't see why not. As long as it's ok with Mr. Run. And afterwards, I'll take you back to your parents," said McGonagall.

Noah's dad chimed in, "Why don't you both go to Ollivanders on your own? You remember where I pointed it out to you earlier, right, Noah? Just meet us back here when you're done."

This made Noah tear her eyes away from the floor as she slowly processed his words. A small fire of excitement started to melt away her apprehension.

She'd be alone with Hermione again! And away from the scary witch!

"Yeah, that s-sounds fine," she croaked out.

Her dad handed her several galleons and she'd just dropped them in her pocket when Hermione impatiently grabbed her hand and dragged her back outside.

"Isn't Professor McGonagall wonderful, Noah? You know she's the one who mails our school letters, right? But she brought mine to me herself. And she's the head of Gryffindor house."

Hermione didn't slow her pace at all while she rambled on, still keeping a firm hold on Noah's hand. Noah was hardly listening, too busy enjoying the warmth of their touching hands as a goofy smile stretch her face as she promptly forgot all about her dad and McGonagall.

 **O0O0O0O**

By the time both girls had left the small wand shop _Ollivanders:_ _Makers_ _of_ _Fine_ _Wands_ _since_ _382_ _B.C._ , the sun was beginning to dip behind the buildings as the sky turned a deeper shade of calm purple-blue.

"We've got our wands, No! I can't believe what you did in there though," Hermione exclaimed.

She was referring to the strange incident that had finally found Noah her wand—eleven and a half inches, made of juniper, and with the core of dragon heartstring. A warm feeling had suddenly washed over her and all the wands in the shop had rattled in their boxes as if trying to escape.

Then, all at once, it stopped.

"It wasn't on purpose," Noah muttered modestly. "It just…happened."

"If you say so… I mean, he did say that you had great potential." Noah didn't miss the strange edge in her voice that didn't sound angry, but not too happy either. Jealous, maybe?

Noah shook her head. _There's_ _no_ _way._ _She_ _can_ _read_ _a_ _whole_ _book_ _in_ _a_ _few_ _minutes_ _after_ _all…_

Besides, her potential was about as great as a Cyclops' brain. She was just glad she hadn't blown up one of the shelves or something.

Hermione's hand slipped into her own as if by instinct and gave a tug. "What do you think he meant by 'the wand chooses the wizard'?"

Noah only shrugged, half-hearing her with the warm tingles shooting up her arm. And her head suddenly felt very heavy with thoughts off all that had happened today.

"Dunno, but I-I bet he says it to everybody. Y'know, like in car insurance commercials on TV. _The_ _car_ _chooses_ _the_ _driver_." She did her best to imitate the deep narrating voice, which made them both burst out laughing. They hadn't even realized they were back at Flourish and Blotts.

"There you are!" Efren called to them. "Noah, what took you so long? Did you get lost?"

Noah nearly groaned as he and McGonagall came to meet them. Not only had her time with Hermione gone by all too quickly, but now she was back to her dad treating her like she was still a baby in front of everyone.

"No, we didn't get lost," she grumbled. "It just t-took a while to get our wands."

"Maybe I shouldn't have let you go off alone," he went on, not even hearing her. "Why don't you say goodbye to your little friend."

She wanted to yell at him that she wasn't five years old and that she'd much rather be with her "little friend" than him and his new girlfriend anyway, but she swallowed it back as she turned to Hermione.

"I'll see you soon?" she asked in a small, hopeful voice. She realized they were still holding hands and ventured to gently squeeze Hermione's.

"Of course, No. I'm going to go home and start reading all my new books to get ready," Hermione replied, returning the gesture.

"What'd you just call me?" Noah asked, looking slightly amused.

"Oh, um, I guess I shortened your name…I'm sorry—"

"No! I like it," Noah argued. "Just…don't call me No-no."

Hermione smiled. "Deal. And let's talk about everything when we see each other again since you're not nervous around me anymore."

"I…what?"

"Well, you stopped stuttering, so I just thought—"

"All right, Noah, let's be on our way now." Noah's shoulder's sagged when her dad's voice cut through again and Hermione released her hand to wave goodbye.

Then Noah realized that she _had_ stopped stuttering around Hermione, which made her feel much lighter on her feet as she went to catch up with her dad.

She usually didn't get comfortable around new people so fast, but with Hermione, she'd felt much more relaxed and eager to talk. And she could still feel the soft fingers closed around her own…

As soon as she and her dad arrived back home, she climbed up to her attic room without waiting for dinner and started pouring over her new books. Her mind was already rehearsing for her next meeting with the bushy-haired girl, who stayed on her mind long after she finally went to sleep.

* * *

 _A/N: That covers Chapter 2! I hope Hermione and McGonagall were in-character. Feedback of any kind is always appreciated. Thanks for reading and check out the next chapter where Noah finally gets to Hogwarts to be sorted!_


	3. Aboard the Express

_A/N: There isn't much change to this chapter compared to the previous version._

 _As always, constructive criticism and general suggestions are appreciated._

 _Thank you studentloans and Abyranss for your reviews. They were not only really nice but also helpful in pointing out a few things about the story that gave me some new ideas to try out for future chapters._

 _DISCLAIMER: I don't own_ _Percy Jackson_ _or_ _Harry Potter_ _._

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

 **The Sorting**

Noah wandered along the aisle of the Hogwarts Express feeling pretty stupid with her school robes gathered in her arms as she searched for Hermione.

Nearly all the compartments were filled with other students who had already found their friends and were chatting away excitedly. But there was no sign of the know-it-all girl she'd been anxious to see all morning. The train had departed Platform 9 ¾ only a little while ago, so now she could only hope that her friend hadn't missed it.

"You there!"

Noah spun around and saw a tall, redheaded boy strutting over to her with his nose high in the air and a shiny badge gleaming on his chest.

"You can't just wander the hallways like this," he said snippily. He glanced over her with an almost bored look on his freckled face. "You must be a first-year. I'm a prefect and if you need to change into your school robes, the bathroom's that way."

"B-But I—" Before Noah could manage an explanation, the boy promptly ushered her into a single, cramped room and shut the door.

"And don't take too long! Others will need to change too!"

 _Oh, shut up,_ Noah thought irritably as she dropped her robes to the floor and sighed with resignation.

 **O0O0O0O**

After adjusting her wizard's hat, Noah stepped back in the bright train corridor.

"There you are!"

Noah looked up, thinking the snooty boy had come back, but instead she was nearly tackled to the floor in a bone-crushing hug.

"Oh, Noah, I was so worried you didn't even come!" Hermione exclaimed into her shoulder as they straightened themselves.

"O-Of course I c-came," said Noah. "Where were you?"

"Oh, I was helping Neville look for his toad and"—Almost as quickly as Hermione had hugged her, she drew back with a curious frown on her face. Noah was about to ask what was wrong but stopped when she felt cool fingers trace down her neck and lift up the necklace hanging there.

"What's this, No?" asked Hermione, fingering the smooth, decorated bead dangling at the end. "It's very pretty…"

It was deep blue, with a golden dresser—the one from Cabin #20—painted in the center and tiny, upside down stick figures on the sides.

"Oh, er…u-umm, my relatives gave it to me," Noah spluttered with her face burning all the way down to her neck—mostly from how close Hermione face was to hers that she could smell the raspberry shampoo in her hair.

In her excitement of getting ready this morning, she hadn't even realized that she'd automatically put the necklace on like she always did back at Camp. She couldn't wear her orange t-shirt in public, but she could at least keep the necklace so she had something to remind her of America.

"The drawings are interesting too…are they supposed to mean something?"

"No!" Noah squeaked.

Maybe too abruptly because it seemed to startle Hermione into finally realizing that they were only inches apart.

"Oi! Get a room, you two!"

Hermione took a few hurried steps back while Noah snapped her head in the direction the voice had come from. Standing in the doorway of a compartment was a boy with a gold-brown face and dark, tousled hair that rivaled Noah's. While his two friends snickered behind him, he was smirking and it suddenly reminded her of Simon.

"W-W-We weren't d-doing anything," Noah mumbled awkwardly to her feet only to hear snorts of laughter.

"Man, she stammers worse than our house-elf does," laughed the taller boy.

"Oi, Michael, maybe your elf could give her speech lessons," the first boy snorted.

 _And maybe I could kick you in your soft spot,_ Noah thought, but she couldn't get the words to come out of her mouth.

"Leave her alone!" Hermione snapped. "You have no right to pick on her when she hasn't done anything to you."

Noah started to smile, touched that the girl was sticking up for her.

"No one's talking to you, Beaver-Teeth," sneered the first boy.

Noah frowned as she glanced at Hermione, who looked ready to cry. As if acting on instinct, she stepped forward to shield Hermione with her body and with a swell of anger and courage she didn't know she possessed she swung her leg back and delivered a sharp kick to the offender's shin.

"Let's go, Hermione," she said quickly, pulling the other girl after her as she rushed away.

Behind them, she heard the boy swearing as he cradled his leg while his friends roared with laughter at his predicament.

"Wh-What a couple of jerks," she said irritably, glancing over her shoulder.

But Hermione was at a loss for words, staring back at her with disbelieving eyes. When they were far away enough, she stopped, forcing Noah to turn back with a confused look on her face.

"N-Noah, y-you…?"

"What?"

To Noah's surprise, Hermione gave her hand a gentle squeeze

"I can't believe you did that," she said, a huge smile spreading across her face. "Thank you, Noah."

Noah swallowed and smiled weakly. "N-No problem. Let's just go find somewhere to sit now."

"Sure! I was sitting with Neville just over here." Hermione led her to a compartment a few steps away where a plump, brunet boy sat, looking quite miserable.

"Hi," he murmured, twiddling his thumbs in his lap. He tried to smile, but quickly became depressed again.

"Er, hi…" Noah mumbled awkwardly as she sat down. "Did y-you find your t-toad?"

He shook his head. "No," he moaned, "and Gran's gonna k-kill me. My uncle gave me Trevor after he pushed me out the window."

"He _what_?" Noah and Hermione cried at the same time. Hermione looked completely horrorstruck.

"Why would he—? Th-That's really m-messed up," Noah added, her eyes just as wide.

"Oh n-no, it was all right! My magic finally showed up and I bounced…s-so they finally realized that I wasn't a Squib."

Hermione then got over her shock and proceeded to bombard the shaking boy with one question after another. What's a Squib? Do wizarding families often test their kids to see if they have magic?

 _Jeez…and I thought I had it bad with my dad_ , Noah thought with a shake of her head.

And they all continued to chat until the sky darkened and Hogwarts castle eventually came into view. Noah felt a hand shakily grab her knee.

"We're here, No," whispered Hermione. "We're really here."

 **O0O0O0O**

The Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade Station at a steady halt.

Students excitedly clambered onto the platform in a loud clamor. The added cat yowls, owl hoots, and toad croaks didn't make it any easier for the giant man to make himself heard at the end of the platform.

"Firs' years this way!" he called from underneath his shaggy beard.

Noah shivered as soon as she landed on solid ground, her breath floating before her in icy puffs. She didn't even have time to blink before the large crowd shoved her along towards the lake where dozens of small boats sat on the calm water.

"No more'n four to a boat!" the man ordered next. "An' don't mind Fang. He jus' didn't want ter stay at home tonight."

A rather large boarhound sat at his feet with droopy eyes watching the children scurrying to follow the giant's command.

As Noah searched for a boat, she soon became aware of someone close on her heels. She turned and saw the dog sniffing her keenly.

"Um…hey there, boy." She reached down and scratched behind his ear.

 _Ah, that feels quite nice._

Startled, Noah spun around, expecting to see someone. There was nothing.

"Who said—"

 _I did._ The dog gave her an expectant look.

Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "You?"

Now, she felt kind of ridiculous talking to him out loud.

"Noah! Over here!"

She tore her eyes away from the dog and saw Hermione waving her over to the boat she shared with Neville. Noah hurried over and climbed in, but they all cried out when the boat rocked suddenly as the dog jumped in behind her. But before any of them could say anything or try to shoo him out, they were already moving across the murky water.

 **O0O0O0O**

"Seems as tho' Fang's taken quite a liking ter yeh, lass. Don' be scared of him tho'. He's a bloody coward at heart!" the giant man—Hagrid, the dog called him—chuckled as his boat pulled up next to theirs.

 _Pah! A coward, he says! Just because I have the common sense not to fool around with dangerous monsters twice my size._

Noah startled again at the voice she kept hearing.

Fang. The great boarhound who kept insisting that someone—namely Noah—scratch behind his ears. As hard as she had tried to ignore the dog and convince herself she wasn't going crazy, he kept nuzzling her with his wet nose and inching more of his body into her lap.

 _Now, please? There's just one more spot that's REALLY bothering me._

"You said that about the spot on your stomach, and your other ear, _and_ under your chin—"

"I think Noah really likes Fang too," Hermione snickered, her eyes never leaving her flustered friend. "She keeps holding such an _interesting_ conversation with him."

Neville, who was looking more cheered since Hagrid had returned him his toad, joined her. Noah gave them a halfhearted glare. She would've been happier if Fang hadn't just plopped his heavy head onto her lap and licked her hand, putting more drool on her body.

 _Please?_ Wide eyes stared up at her innocently.

She groaned, but finally relented and raked her fingers against the back of his head in quick motions that made his leg twitch like crazy.

"Are you a magical dog or something?" she asked in a low voice as soon as Hermione turned away.

 _Nope. Not in the slightest. Ah, you're quite good at this scratching business. Yeah, right there, thanks…_

His voice sounded very refined and didn't match his droopy look at all.

"Then how can I understand you?"

 _You're the magical one, aren't you? You figure it out. All I know is that as soon as you walked by me, I could tell you'd be a very good Scratcher. So I asked you to scratch for me._

"Er, y-you're welcome, I guess…"

So she wasn't crazy…she could just talk to dogs. Great.

 **O0O0O0O**

Even though Noah was surrounded by dozens of boys and girls her own age, she suddenly felt very alone.

They were all being led by McGonagall through a stony entrance hall, flaming torches lighting their way as they mounted the marble staircase towards the upper floor. When they reached a pair of gilded double doors, the witch whirled around to face them.

"In just a moment, you will all enter the Great Hall to be sorted into one of the four Houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin…"

Hadn't Hermione mentioned something about Gryffindor being the best House? While McGonagall droned on about the rules, Noah squeezed her eyes shut and hoped with all her might that she would be in the same house as Hermione. It was almost too scary to imagine being separated from the one person who loved to read as much as she did. Someone who didn't think she was too boring, or too stupid, or too weird to be around.

"What is it, No?" Hermione's whispering voice cut into her silent prayer as the girl watched her worriedly.

"N-Nothing. Just thinking…"

"…Now, if you're all smartened up and ready, follow me," McGonagall finished.

The messy-haired boy from the train only rolled his eyes at the idea of even bothering with his crooked tie while one of the twin Indian girls in front of her quickly straightened her barrette. Noah nervously ran her fingers through her own hair in a vain attempt to smooth it down. There was no point bothering with the rest of her clothes since her school robes were already too big for her scrawny form.

Hermione giggled at her side before reaching up to twirl one of the unruly strands around her finger.

"I don't think that's going to work," she whispered.

"Ha ha. Look who's talking," Noah deadpanned, pulling the other girl's hat over her eyes.

Hermione giggled even harder and gently elbowed her in the side.

McGonagall beckoned them to follow her as she pushed the doors open. Once Noah stepped into the Great Hall, she felt a rush of excitement so strong that her breath caught in her throat.

"Wow…" she gasped, trying to see as much as possible.

The Great Hall was amazing! A huge dining room with arch windows and four long tables, each splendidly decorated with fine linen and golden plates and goblets that gleamed in the light, sitting in front of the hundreds of students awaiting the first-years' arrival. Way at the front of the Hall was a high table where the school staff resided. But what really amazed Noah was the ceiling, which looked just like the nighttime sky only with thousands of floating candles.

She still couldn't believe this was all really happening, and so fast too. It certainly made the awkward days she'd spent at her dad's worth it.

"Boot, Terry!"

Noah was startled out of her thoughts just as the boy from the train nervously made his way up to the three-legged stool where McGonagall placed an old, patched wizard's hat on his head.

The Sorting had begun.

"RAVENCLAW!"

Her mouth fell open, but then she had to bite her tongue to keep from bursting with laughter. Her dad had told her about the talking hat, but seeing it now just made the whole thing seem hilarious. A roar of applause erupted from the table underneath the blue and bronze banner as the boy happily found a seat.

"Brocklehurst, Mandy!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

Noah felt her heart do excited backflips when Hermione's warm hand slipped into hers. She looked over and was a little relieved to see that Hermione was just as anxious as she was.

"Your hands are all clammy," she whispered to Noah with a weak grin. "This is great, isn't it? The ceiling's enchanted to look like the sky."

Noah nodded slowly as she held on tighter to Hermione's hand. She was already starting to feel a little better.

"Hey…w-we'll be friends no matter what, right?" she asked just as "Finch-Fletchley, Justin!" was sorted into Hufflepuff. "I mean…we'll both be in the same House, don't you think?"

A startled look crossed Hermione's face before she gave an understanding smile that made her seem older than she was. A small squeak escaped from Noah when Hermione released her hand and pulled her into a hug.

"Of course we're still going to be friends, No, and nothing can ever change that. Don't worry about anything," said Hermione, her tone hinting that there would be no arguments.

Even though it was a nice hug, Noah's face burned with embarrassment at the stares they were receiving, especially when Terry Boot began to entertain his snickering friend by pretending to faint with distress before flashing her a haughty smirk. She glared back at him just as McGonagall called, "Granger, Hermione!"

The two girls sprung apart and exchanged nervous looks one last time before Hermione hurried up to the stool and put the hat on her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted.

Noah clapped wildly as Hermione bounded over to join her new housemates, looking very relieved. Now all Noah had to do was make it into Gryffindor too even though she didn't think herself to be very brave or daring…

 _But we will be in the same House! We've just got to be!_ she thought firmly, trying to boost her own confidence. The unnerving realization was sinking in that this ridiculous hat held her fate in its…seams?

It seemed to take forever for McGonagall to go through all the names.

MacDougal…Patil…Potter…leading up to—

"Run, Noah!"

Shakily, Noah walked forward, hating the feeling of hundreds of eyes watching her as she sat on the stool. Before long, however, she found herself staring into the black inside of the hat.

"Run, eh? The name sounds familiar," said a tiny voice, making her start as though a fly had buzzed near her ear. "Of course, the last one wasn't a demigod."

 _You know about me?_ She thought anxiously, glad that no one could see her shocked expression.

"Well, of course! It's been a while, but I'd recognize a child of Hecate that needs to be sorted from a mile off." The hat sounded quite offended. "Plus, I can read your mind like a book. So where to put you, little demigod?"

 _Please say Gryffindor, please say Gryffindor,_ she thought desperately, trying to picture Hermione cheering for her when the hat said—

"I'm not so sure about Gryffindor, my dear."

Noah just barely stopped herself from protesting out loud.

 _What? Why not? I promised I would be! I can be brave!_

"And Slytherin certainly won't fit you either," the hat continued on as if it hadn't heard her. "Your loyalty is even more impressive than Helga herself. Curious indeed…You've got potential, Run, I'll give you that. However, I can't say I know where it will take you…and that's why I'll choose…RAVENCLAW!"

 **O0O0O0O**

"It wasn't us!"

"Though it's an _oh so_ tempting idea…"

Percy glowered at his twin brothers. Fred and George. Not just Fred. And not just George. One was never without the other, and together they were the bane of his existence.

"I _know_ you took it. And you nearly cost me my prefect title! I'm telling Mother for sure about this!"

"Oooo, surprise, surprise," Fred scoffed. He and George rolled their identical eyes in perfect synchronization.

Their mother, Mrs. Weasley, probably had a file cabinet just like Filch's of all the letters Percy had sent her tattling on all the misdeeds they got up to. He seriously needed a better hobby.

As Percy marched up to his dorms to make good on his threat, they went back to turning Lee Jordan's giant spider into different colors.

"Percy's a total mental case," said George, turning the spider neon green.

"More so than usual?" Fred answered.

But Lee Jordan regarded them suspiciously "So you guys really didn't steal his badge?" he asked.

"Well, of course we did—"

"'Cause it was so shiny, we couldn't resist." By now, Lee was used to how his best friends always managed to finish each other's sentence and burst out laughing when George revealed the polished silver badge pinned to the inside of his jacket.

"Can't you p-play w-with that thing somewhere else?" whined the youngest Weasley brother, Ron. His knees were knocking together as his blue eyes looked everywhere else but the hairy arachnid crawling about.

"Oh, don't worry, Ronniekins. We won't let the big, bad spider hurt you," cooed George.

"Yeah, why don't you and Harry go up and get your beauty sleep? Big day, tomorrow," Fred added.

Ron gulped miserably and allowed his best friend, a bespectacled boy with unkempt black hair to lead him upstairs.

"Let's go, Ron. I've still got some candy that Mum packed for me," said Harry Potter.

"Is it that spicy chocolate she got from her mission in Sweden?" Ron asked hopefully, already forgetting his fear of spiders.

Harry grinned. "Definitely. She managed to get some before Dad nicked 'em all to snack on at work."

Ron snickered, knowing full well how Harry's dad, James Potter, liked to eat sweets to distract himself from writing his reports on the Auror missions he and his wife went on.

As soon as the rest of the first-years were up in bed and Lee Jordan was out of breath from laughing so hard, things settled down in the Gryffindor common room. Now it was time for the three boys to start planning their first prank of the year to ensure that no one could steal their places as Hogwarts' Number One Pranksters.

"Could you all _please_ quiet down some?"

Startled by the bossy voice, the three older boys looked over their shoulders and saw a small girl watching them intently. She was off in a corner by herself and with ink-stained hands holding her quill that was already scratched down to a nub.

"And you are…?"

A flicker of surprise seemed to cross her face that made her look suddenly vulnerable.

"M-Me? Oh! Um, I'm Hermione Granger. This is my first year and I just wanted to be sure I'm all caught up with my notes just in case there's a pop quiz or—"

"Whoa, slow down there, little firstie," Fred said, holding his hands up.

"That was, like…ten words per second," remarked Lee, scratching his dreadlocked head.

"More than our mom has ever managed," George added.

Hermione blushed horribly and stared at her feet to avoid their wide-eyed looks. At least Noah hadn't looked at her like that. In fact, her friend hadn't seemed much bothered by any of the quirks that had gotten Hermione teased for in the past.

"S-Sorry, I…I do that a lot…"

George shrugged. "Whatever. Shouldn't you get some sleep?"

He found himself partly concerned because of her already-obsessive study habits, but he and the others also really wanted to hurry up and delve back into their plans for mayhem.

Hermione hesitated and bit her lip. Honestly, she'd been avoiding going up to her dorm so she wouldn't have to be reminded that her best friend wasn't there with her. She was excited to get into Gryffindor (Headmaster Dumbledore's old House, she had told Noah), but now she was wondering if she'd be able to sleep at all. The plans and daydreams she'd had about staying up late with Noah, trading secrets, and giggling over silly things seemed so far away now.

"So, er, Hermione…have you made any friends yet?" Lee asked when she hadn't answered for a whole minute.

Snapped out of her thoughts, Hermione nodded vigorously, her wild hair flying everywhere. "Yes! Well…my friend Noah is in Ravenclaw…" That same sad look cast a shadow over her face.

 _Those two must be pretty close_ , Fred wondered.

But then she brightened again. "But my roommates are really nice too."

As if on cue, a bubbly, curly-haired first-year wearing brightly-colored pajamas came skipping down the stairs.

"Oh, _there_ you are, Hermione!" she said sweetly.

"Hi, Lavender," Hermione greeted her shyly. She still couldn't believe such a sweet and pretty girl would want to talk to her.

"I was wondering," Lavender began, hugging her close. "Well, actually, _Parvati_ was wondering if she could copy those notes you already made. I told her not to bother you about such a thing before our first day, but she really wants to be ready so her parents won't give her even more of a hard time."

"Why would they do that?" Hermione asked, genuinely concerned.

"As soon as they find out that she didn't get into Ravenclaw like her sister, they won't be too happy. Their whole family's been there and…well, she doesn't want them to think that she won't study hard just because she's in Gryffindor."

"But shouldn't Parvati make her own notes?" Hermione said with a slight frown.

" _Please_ , Hermione. It'll only be for a few minutes. And we'll make it up to you. Promise."

Hermione bit her lip. She didn't approve of copying much, but they were her roommates. Her mom did always say that to get a little, you had to give a little too.

"Oh…all right. They're in my trunk."

"Thank you _so_ much! I promise we'll make it up to you soon," Lavender gushed breathlessly.

Then she gave her a tight squeeze and went back upstairs without a second glance back.

The three boys watched this scene before them before exchanging knowing looks with each other. They had seen dozens of girls like this Lavender before and knew that it'd be a _long_ while before she would "make it up" to Hermione.

Fred cleared his throat. "Well, er, Hermione…a word to the wise: don't study too hard or your brains'll fall out, ok?"

Hermione frowned skeptically. "That's not possible, you know," she said pointedly.

These boys were pretty weird, but at least they weren't teasing her.

George added, "And also, if you need any help getting around this crazy castle, just ask for the services of George Weasley"—he pointed to himself.

"Lee Jordan."

"And Fred Weasley!"

At this, Hermione was taken aback at first, but then she was almost bouncing. Her first night and she was already meeting so many new people!

"Thank y-you," she stammered. "Well, then, goodnight." She gathered up her things and trotted up to bed.

She felt a little better now, but there still was a part of her that hoped her shy friend missed her as much as she did right now.


	4. Beginnings

_DISCLAIMER: I don't own_ _Percy Jackson_ _or_ _Harry Potter_ _._

* * *

 **Chapter Four**

 **Beginnings**

"Hey! Wake up!"

"Huh?"

Noah lifted her head off her pillow and blearily looked around the blue and bronze room to see who was shaking her. She blinked when she saw an Indian girl with silky, black hair pulled back into a plaited ponytail. It was one of her roommates but she couldn't remember the girl's name at all.

"I'm Padma Patil," the girl said politely. "You're Noah Run, right? I hope we didn't keep you up all night with our talking."

Well, actually, they had, but Noah mumbled out an awkward "no" before letting the overeager girl pull her out of her warm bed. Slowly, the memory of last night slowly came back to her and she began to feel anxious and disillusioned about her impending first day of classes. Not only had she been separated from her new friend all thanks to a stupid hat, she'd also found herself sharing a room with a bunch of giggling girls who had talked through most of the night about strange, magical things and made it very hard for her to fall asleep.

A part of her had wanted to stay awake, blankets pulled all the way over her head, and listen to their conversation about how funny looking the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Quirrell, was. She'd even considered joining them, but the thought left her mind just as quickly. It just wouldn't have been the same without Hermione and she could only imagine how stupid she would look trying to pretend she knew what she was talking about from the little she remembered of her dad telling her about the wizarding world.

"So, that's Lisa Turpin"—Padma indicated the freckly blonde girl whose hair was tied up in a messy bun—"and Mandy Brocklehurst"—a girl with curly, chestnut hair and chubby cheeks.

"M-Morning," Noah stammered to the floor, wincing at her pitiful stutter. She knew they were all pretending not to notice.

"We were all going to head down to breakfast together if you want to come with us," Padma said kindly.

"Um, s-sure…"

"Great! Well, hurry up and get dressed and we'll meet you in the common room. Can't be late on our first day!" With that, Padma nudged her out the door.

After showering and brushing her teeth, Noah threw on her robes and headed down the spiral staircase when the ground beneath her feet suddenly gave way like a blob of jelly. She went tumbling down until she crashed to the ground with an agonizing _thud!_ Colorful spots danced in front of her eyes and several people stood over her asking if she was alright. When her vision steadied at last, she spotted the condescending face of Terry Boot, standing a few feet away at near the top of the stairs while his cronies snickered just around the corner. Then she realized that it wasn't the ground that had failed her but her own legs, which now looked melted chocolate but slowly turned back to normal.

Terry strolled towards her, lazily twirling his wand. "Runny, you should really pay attention when you're walking. You don't want to lose what little brains you have left…"

Noah gingerly got to her feet, her head throbbing painfully as she did so, only to see his wand now aimed right at her nose.

"Gonna go cry some more because you didn't get into Gryffindor with your ickle friend—"

Fortunately for Noah, Terry didn't get to finish his sentence because he was yanked back by the hood of his robes at the same time two upperclassmen stepped in front of her and aimed their wands right at him. The boy instantly froze in place.

"All right, back off, Boot," barked a handsome and athletic third year. "Don't be a twit on the first day."

"I agree with Davies, kid. Leave the poor girl alone," interrupted Duncan Inglebee, who was also built quite sturdy with thick eyebrows and a surprisingly stern face for a third year.

"I was just messing around," Terry grumbled, and then he spun around and marched out the common room, his friends running after him.

"Are you ok, Noah?" Padma asked as she, Lisa, and Mandy came over.

"Y-Yeah, I'm ok." Noah gingerly rubbed the back of her head.

"Just ignore them," Padma continued, brushing dirt off her shoulder. "You don't want to get mixed up with someone like Terry Boot anyway." She even threw a disgusted look over her shoulder for emphasis.

"Wh-Why do you say that?" Noah asked, stepping through the doorway and into the castle hallway.

This time, Padma glanced around and lowered her voice, "It's like this…Boot's parents are purebloods, ok? I don't know much about his mum, but his dad…well, Alexander Boot was a Death Eater in the war."

Noah ogled her in complete disbelief. "No way…"

Padma nodded. "I'm serious. He only escaped Azkaban because he claimed that he was under the Imperius Curse and whatever, but still…he's a dangerous man and it was right smart of his wife to divorce him."

Noah frowned and stared at the floor, her mind whirling at this information.

Her dad hadn't told her much about the War, but she remembered some of the chilling stories he had mentioned reading in the newspaper about the dark wizard, Lord Voldemort, and his Death Eaters before he'd been transferred to America by his department. While this stroke of luck had kept him out of the thick of things, Voldemort's terror had spread far and wide and there had even been rumors that he had begun to collect some American supporters until Dumbledore defeated him.

"If you ask me, Boot should've been put into Slytherin with the other future dark wizards, but I'm telling you this so you'll know to stay away from them, understand?" Padma continued.

Swallowing, Noah nodded and let her brain process all this information as she followed her roommates to breakfast.

Excitement filled the Great Hall as hundreds of owls swooped in overhead and students filed in to help themselves to the delicious, magical food that awaited them. The enchanted ceiling above looked like it had been covered with a large, blue blanket and decorated with wispy clouds.

As Noah sat down she spotted Hermione at the Gryffindor table talking animatedly with a few other kids. A cold, lonely lump settled in her throat and her eyes began to sting. It wasn't fair! This wouldn't be happening if they'd just been sorted into the same house and by the looks of it, Hermione was already getting on well without her.

"Course schedules! First years!" called a squeaky voice.

It was Professor Flitwick, their head of house and Charms teacher. He was a tiny man, just below Noah's chest, with a shock of white hair and some goblin-like features. He scurried over, passed schedules to the four of them, and took off again.

"Guft ners, guys, weef goff Transfigation fuhst," Noah heard Terry's blonde friend announce, shoveling the last of his eggs into his mouth.

"That's great, Anthony, but we've still got Herbology with the stupid Gryffindors," the taller boy, Michael, moaned, throwing a snide look her way.

But she wasn't paying attention since she had spotted this on her schedule and felt her spirits rising considerably as they all left the Great Hall. It looked like she would get to see her friend more often than she thought.

Then she froze when a sudden thought struck her. She dashed back to the Great Hall where she hurriedly grabbed a roll and some fruit and made her way back to Ravenclaw Tower.

Hogwarts was nothing more than a giant labyrinth with one hundred and forty two moving staircases, twisting corridors, doors that either weren't normal or not even actual doors, and moving objects that were sometimes helpful. Yet despite all this, Noah was able to navigate herself back to her house's entrance where she slipped inside before the door could close and force her to solve a riddle to be able to go inside.

Thankfully, the elegant, starry common room was empty except for the roaring fire and Noah threw the food into the flames.

"For my mother, Hecate."

 **O0O0O0O**

"Where did you go, Noah? Why'd you run off like that?" Padma asked her minutes later when she sat next to her in the Transfiguration classroom.

"N-Nowhere. I just h-had to take c-c-care of something," Noah answered, focusing intently on pulling out her copy of _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_.

Padma was clearly not satisfied with that answer but Lisa cut her off before she could press for more answers.

"Are you looking forward to this class? My mum and dad told me that McGonagall was a tough teacher. Hopefully, she won't give us too much work on the first day," she said.

"Um, y-yeah…that would k-kind of suck," Noah offered lamely, not looking away from her book and almost sorry she couldn't think of anything better to say.

She simply wasn't used to other kids being friendly to her out of the blue. They were usually teasing her or ignoring her altogether.

"You're friends with Hermione, right?" Mandy asked next. "Oh, I see that got your attention." She grinned at Noah, who blushed but nodded anyway.

"Well, yeah, I mean…she's one of m-my best f-friends," she replied faintly. "How do you know her?" Her eyes flicked up to look at them for a quick second, and then landed on her book again.

Padma answered first, "My sister, Parvati, is in Gryffindor too and they're roommates. I heard that Granger's already gone through all the textbooks."

Noah couldn't help but to giggle at that. Hermione was one of the smartest people she knew and if anyone could read through an entire list of schoolbooks _before_ school had even started, it was her.

"Unbelievable! Runny's actually got a personality!"

Noah only settled to glare at Terry and his friends who, much to her dismay, were settling themselves in the seats behind her and the other girls.

"Bugger off, Boot," Padma said coolly, placing a protective hand on Noah's shoulder.

"I wasn't even talking to _you_ , Patil," Terry retorted before turning back to Noah. "You don't belong in Ravenclaw, Runny. And don't think that you're always going to have the bigger kids watching your back."

Noah swallowed but forced herself to turn around and face him.

"I-I'm not s-scared of you, Boot. Y-You're just a-an annoying b-bully," she stated, even though her tongue now felt like lead in her mouth.

She immediately regretted her words when the three boys snickered and Terry leaned in and said in a low voice,

"Is that right? Then how about a wizard's duel? Tonight. Wands only."

Her knees began to shake and she felt like a puny ant under a magnifying glass. She spared a glance a Padma through the corner of her eye and saw the girl angrily shaking her head.

She opened her mouth and croaked. Her throat had gone dry. She cleared it. No sounds came out at all.

"Glad to hear it, Runny. We'll see you tonight with your second. And you'd better—"

"If you're all quite finished," snapped a much older voice.

Everyone immediately fell silent under McGonagall's piercing gaze from the front of the classroom, which was mainly focused on the six disruptive students she had just walked in on. They all squirmed under the tension and then wordlessly took their seats. Noah stared down at her desk, mortified. Class hadn't even started yet and already she'd gotten in trouble. Not just with the teacher but with a mini-Death Eater too.

It seemed like her first year really was off to a lousy start…

 **O0O0O0O**

Halfway into the class, Noah struggled to keep up with the long lecture and complicated notes while keeping her temper in check, especially when another one of Terry's crumpled papers hit her in the back of the head. Even if she wasn't fuming over this particular distraction, she still would have felt like she was writing complete gibberish between the all the words she knew she'd misspelled and the fancy text in her book floating off the pages.

If it were written in Ancient Greek, she wouldn't be having this problem.

And did they really need to know about the ancient methods of transfiguration just to turn a match into a needle?

She did her best not to meet McGonagall's eyes again, still feeling ashamed to have gotten off on the wrong foot with the teacher. She'd been determined to make up for it by staying quiet and taking diligent notes, but after a while she finally put her quill down in frustration. Not to mention that her hand was starting to cramp.

She wondered, not for the first time, why they couldn't just use regular pencils and pens.

 _This place is more medieval than camp,_ she thought.

Another wad of parchment bounced off her ear.

" _Knock it off!_ " she snapped angrily, her temper finally getting the better of her as she whipped around in her seat.

" _Noah!_ " Padma hissed urgently.

Noah looked away from Terry's triumphant sneer and saw the whole class watching her expectantly.

"Er, wh-what…?"

McGonagall cleared her throat. "I was wondering, Miss Run, if perhaps you could tell me one of the ancient methods the early alchemists used for transfiguration? Since you're not on page 170 with the rest of us, I assume that you already know the answer."

Noah frantically fumbled through her textbook, her panic only making the words harder to read. Other students raised their hands, but the professor ignored them.

"I, er…I-I-I can't find…" Noah trailed off, her eyes desperately scanning the pages for the answer that would save her from this nightmare.

At this, McGonagall snapped her fingers and Noah's book opened to the assigned page with a loud snap.

" _That_ is the correct page, Miss Run," she said frostily. "Five points from Ravenclaw for wasting our time. And a detention for you and Boot for, once again, disrupting my class."

Noah wanted to yell about the unfairness of it all and how it was Terry's fault in the first place, but she only bit her lip and bowed her head in embarrassment. There was a brief pause as McGonagall watched her curiously for a moment, but she soon resumed teaching.

 **O0O0O0O**

After Transfiguration, during which McGonagall had docked another five points from Noah for not taking proper notes, Noah felt miserable for the rest of the morning, especially when Anthony whispered the rest of Terry's threat from earlier.

"You'd better show up tonight, Runny, or you'll be sorry," he'd hissed in her ear.

Noah didn't waste another second and ran after Padma and the others, trying to will away the queasy feeling rising in her stomach. Padma whirled on her right away.

"I can't believe you, Noah! Agreeing to duel with Boot? And after everything I told you before?" she scolded, hands on her hips.

Forgetting her shyness, Noah gave her an incredulous look. "I-I-I didn't agree t-to anything! That w-was all his idea!"

"But you're not really going to go, are you?" Mandy piped up, clutching her books to her chest.

"I…I-I don't know," Noah replied weakly.

"You _can't_ go," Padma ranted on. "Besides, Ravenclaws don't duel in the middle of the night. That's what Gryffindors do. And you're not a Gryffindor, Noah, you're a Ravenclaw."

Noah grumbled, drawing patterns on the floor with her foot, "It's n-not like I asked the stupid hat to p-put me here."

Padma sighed, "Look, I'm sorry you're not in the same house as Hermione, but still…Ravenclaw has a reputation to keep up. Anyone in our house should focus on getting high marks. So forget about Boot and dueling."

"B-But I"—Noah stopped herself, and then sighed, "All right. Fine."

Padma gently patted her arm. "Good for you. Now, let's get to Herbology."

That actually did cheer Noah up for a moment, realizing she'd finally get to see Hermione. Of course, that didn't mean she'd easily forgotten about her current predicament. As much as she wanted to follow Padma's advice, she also knew that chickening out on a challenge from bullies often did more harm than good. But even if she did take Terry on, she barely knew any spells to defend herself.

Herbology was held in the greenhouses behind the castle where Hermione was already waiting with Neville and the other Gryffindors waving her over excitedly. She didn't even wait for Noah to say something before hugging her tightly and chatting away.

"Noah, I'm sorry we couldn't be in the same house. How's your first day though? You know we have Defense Against the Dark Arts together on Thursday too, right? And I—"

"Hermione, slow down," Noah giggled, pulling off the girl's pointy hat.

Trying not to laugh, Hermione shot her a half-hearted glare and took her hat back. "Oh, shush you. Anyway, how's your day going?"

That made Noah pause for a moment, but then she shrugged awkwardly.

"Um…it's alright," she mumbled. "How about yours?"

"It's been really interesting! I'm already learning so much so I'm really excited to see what this class is about," Hermione exclaimed.

Their teacher was a dumpy, cheerful witch named Professor Sprout who wasted no time in showing them some of the magical plants they'd be taking care of for the rest of the term.

"We're going to start with a tricky one today, chaps—Moly!" she announced, "Now can anyone tell me what—"

"Moly is a powerful plant that can protect against dark enchantments," Noah called out automatically.

The class fell silent, everyone staring at her, which made her duck her head in embarrassment. "S-Sorry, Professor. I-I don't know how I—"

"Nonsense! You're absolutely correct, Ms…"

"N-N-Noah R-Run." She didn't miss Anthony's snort of laughter at her shaky voice.

"Ms. Run, very good. Five points to…Ravenclaw, right?"

Heat rising to her cheeks, Noah nodded before focusing on her textbook even though she couldn't help but smile. Those were the first points she'd earned all day! Even Hermione looked impressed, which boosted her confidence even more.

As the lesson continued, she managed to earn ten more points from Professor Sprout, which certainly made the other Ravenclaws happy, but only confused her even more. She couldn't figure out how she knew about the different plants without looking at her book even once. She could've earned more points but she wasn't as eager as Hermione was to raise her hand to answer a question and be the center of attention. Especially not with Terry flicking chunks of dragon dung at her every time Professor Sprout wasn't looking.

 _First talking to dogs and now I'm a plant genius?_ She wondered as the class came to an end. _It has to have something to do with Mom_.

Normally, she'd go to Chiron for help with something like this but she had more pressing matters on hand now and was determined to get to the library as soon as possible.

Before she could continue her train of thought, Hermione came running up beside her.

"You didn't tell me you were good at Herbology!" she exclaimed.

"I-I'm not," Noah retorted. "I mean…I just got lucky or something, th-that's all."

"No way, Noah! You did really well. I guess you're my new competition." She smiled to show she was joking.

Noah laughed and shook her head, feeling much better now that she was sure the Gryffindor girl hadn't forgotten about her. This alone made her feel like she could survive the rest of the school year.

* * *

 _A/N: I had a lot of fun rewriting this chapter and I like it a lot better than the last one, especially since I got to give Noah a few new abilities._

 _As always, constructive criticism and general suggestions are appreciated._

 _I have a quick question: does anyone care if I put author notes at the beginning or end of a chapter? I know I haven't been consistent but tell me if it's distracting and I'll take care of it._

 _Thank you studentloans and Abyranss again for reviewing! As always, you both made some great comments. An extra thanks to studentloans for helping me out with the wizard's duel idea. And thanks to Abryanss for the fanart pic of Noah! I'm having trouble getting the link on my profile page, so I'll put it here—just delete the spaces and quotation marks._

kadind. deviantart."com" "/" art/ Noah-Run-553141387

 _Thank you for reading!_


	5. The Wizards Duel

_DISCLAIMER: I don't own_ _Percy Jackson_ _or_ _Harry Potter_ _._

* * *

 **Chapter Five**

 **The Wizards Duel**

Noah lay in bed and waited for another half hour until she was sure that all of her roommates were sound asleep. Carefully, she climbed out from underneath her blankets, grabbing her wand from under her pillow, and then slipping into her sneakers. She hadn't even needed to change out of her jeans.

"About time you got here," Terry hissed impatiently once she made it into the common room. "Let's hurry up and do this."

But then a light clicked on from the far corner of the room, startling her and the other three boys. There sat Padma, scowling in her nightgown.

"I can't believe you're going to do this, Noah. It's a bad idea," she said quietly.

"Mind your own business, Patil," said Michael. "Are we gonna do this or what?"

"Oh, shut up, Corner. It looks like I'm going to have to be her second since you're all stupid enough to go through with this."

Terry shrugged carelessly. "Suit yourself."

With that, he and the other two boys started on their way. Padma leapt out of her seat and scurried over to Noah.

"You don't have to prove anything to Boot, you know. Remember what I told you earlier about Ravenclaw's reputation?"

At this, Noah averted her eyes away knowing that her roommate was right in some way. She couldn't even pull off a decent hex let alone beat Terry Boot in a wizard's duel.

"I know, b-but I'll be ok," Noah finally cut in. She knelt down on one knee to start tying her laces. "I'll t-take them on and…m-make them leave me a-alone."

She could even hear the tremors in her own voice as she spoke, but now that she had said it, she couldn't back down. Besides, Terry and his friends would only make her life even more miserable if she did and she had to defend herself sooner or later. She couldn't hide behind others forever.

Ignoring Padma's complaints, the five Ravenclaws slinked through the door and into the dark, silent hallways. As quiet as they tried to keep their footsteps, every sound they made echoed off the walls as they made their way down to the fifth floor.

"This is it," Terry whispered. This caught everyone else's attention and they followed him.

Noah could practically hear her heart pounding in her ears as she closed the door behind her.

"Good thing you brought Patil to save your sorry butt after I'm done with you," Terry added with a smile, pulling out his wand.

Noah only gulped and moved past Padma to meet her opponent head on.

"W-We'll s-s-see about that, Boot."

She could only hope she looked confident and was glad that her knees weren't shaking too badly as she walked to the middle of the nearly-empty classroom, clutching her wand with all her might. Terry met her there with the others off to the sidelines.

It took all of Noah's willpower to stare back at him as she held her wand high, trying to remember the best spell to use first while reminding herself to stay calm. She'd spent all of lunch and dinner pouring over her any book she could find that taught offensive spells, trying to memorize as many as she could. There was no running away now, so she had to do her best.

Michael began the countdown. "Three…two…one!"

" _Everte Statum!_ " Terry shouted before Noah had even opened her mouth.

In a flash of orange light, Noah was sent flying into the pile of dusty desks behind her. She winced and was momentarily dazed, but not enough that she couldn't hear Anthony's cackling.

"Noah, are you ok?" Padma cried.

She didn't answer as she slowly forced herself to get back on her feet, making sure to keep a tight grip on her wand. Her head pounded in her ears, but she saw Terry get ready for another attack and quickly raised her wand.

" _E-Expelliramus!_ " she yelled.

From what she remembered, the spell was supposed to disarm him but instead they were both blasted off their feet and crashed to the floor.

 _My head's going to crack open at this rate_ , Noah thought as she painfully pressed her palm against the side of her head.

"Ow, Runny! What the hell was that?" she heard Terry shout from the other side of the room.

When she looked up, she saw he was already on his feet but looked ready to fall over at any moment.

"It w-was the d-disarming spell…I think," she answered, standing up from her crumpled mess.

"That's Expelli- _ar_ -mus, stupid. Even I know that," he scoffed.

"S-Sorry, I guess I r-r-read it wrong."

"Oi, you two! Less talking and more dueling," Michael barked irritably.

"Shut it, Mike! We're getting to that!" Terry yelled at him.

Padma stamped her foot. "I _told_ you all this was a bad idea."

"You can shut up too, Patil." And then he raised his wand. " _Expelliarmus!_ "

Noah's wand leapt from her hand and clattered to the floor. She ran to grab it only to be knocked back by another blast of light. Her back hit the stone wall and she bit down hard on her lip to keep from crying out.

When she forced her eyes open, she saw Terry looking like his usual smug self as he lazily twirled his wand and basked in his victory.

"Don't worry, Runny. I'll let you pick up your wand," he cooed. "Or would you rather let Patil take over for you?"

Noah didn't answer, but pushed herself up and looked around for her wand. She made a grab for it and slowly stood up. The coppery taste of blood touched her tongue and she could feel it gathering in her mouth. She must have nearly bit through her lip.

"So you still want to fight—"

" _Everte Statum!_ " Noah couldn't help but be surprised when her own orange blast sent Terry flying across the room and crashing to the floor with a sickening thud.

She breathed a quick laugh as Padma let out a cheer for her and felt a swell of confidence surge through her which made her alert and ready for Terry's next move.

But it never came.

Instead the room fell oddly silent once everyone realized that Terry hadn't moved at all.

"Terry? Are you all right or what?" Michael asked softly, taking a cautious step forward.

There was no answer and with every passing second, an icy stab of fear seized Noah's heart and she didn't take her eyes off her opponent, praying silently that he would start moving.

Then they heard a weak moan.

"Terry!" This time, Michael and Anthony rushed across the room to their ringleader's side and Noah could only stand there frozen and confused as to what was happening before her eyes.

"My arm…I can't move it," Terry said weakly

"I-Is he ok?" Noah asked.

"No, idiot, you broke his arm!" Michael spat, glaring at her hard.

"I d-d-didn't mean to. I'm s-sorry—"

Before she could get the words out, Anthony had jumped to his feet and dove at her with a hard shove which sent her sprawling on her back.

"You'll pay for that," he hissed dangerously, brandishing his wand.

Noah hurried to shield herself with her arms, but Padma had already stepped forward, pointing her wand at him.

"Leave her alone, Goldstein! If you jerks hadn't made her duel him—"

"We didn't make her break Terry's arm! That's all her fault!" Michael yelled while keeping a firm grip on Terry's shoulders as he helped him sit up.

"We have to get a teacher!"

"Forget that! I'll take care of Runny myself—"

"That's quite enough of that!" barked a stern voice from the doorway.

Instantly, the fighting stopped and the four kids all turned to face the speaker. It wasone of the Ravenclaw prefect, Penelope Clearwater. She was a tall, pimply girl with large eyes and thick eyebrows which were furrowed deep into her forehead as she glared down the group of troublemakers, her wand out.

"All of you are coming with me to see Professor Flitwick, right now."

 **O0O0O0O**

The next half hour passed by in a blur. Terry was sent to the hospital wing while the remaining four Ravenclaws followed Penelope to Flitwick's office where they had to wait outside for a torturous ten minutes until Headmaster Dumbledore arrived in his starry robes and went inside the office. Then, one by one, they were each called inside with Noah being the last one.

The whole time she was trembling and fighting back tears as she thought of Terry's arm twisted at an odd angle once he'd been helped to his feet. Then she imagined all kinds of scenarios of Dumbledore and Flitwick telling her she was expelled from Hogwarts. Her dad would disown her. She would never see Hermione again, nor would Hermione ever want to talk to her again. And the worst part of it all was that she had no one else to blame but herself. All she could do was ask herself why she hadn't listened to Padma when she had the chance.

Her guilt only worsened when Padma finally stepped outside and marched past her without even a second glance on her way back to Ravenclaw Tower.

"Ms. Run, please come in."

With a start, she turned and saw Flitwick standing in the door in his white nightgown which matched his disheveled hair. This would've been a comical sight if it weren't for the solemn look on his face. Some outside force must have made her body to obey because if it were up to her, she would've stayed put and begged to stay at Hogwarts. Yet she silently entered the small, tidy room and sat in the chair in front of Flitwick's desk.

Dumbledore stood off in a corner in front of the bookshelf watching her so intently that she couldn't bear to look at him and only stared at the desk, taking in every detail from the wood grain to the stack of books and parchments. Her first time meeting the greatest wizard in the world and the first and last words he would ever say to her was how disappointed he was and she didn't deserve to study at his school.

"Now, Ms. Run," Flitwick began, adjusting himself into his chair. "Would you please explain your side of tonight's incident and why you and your housemates were out of bed after hours?"

Noah forced herself to look at him and opened her mouth to speak, but her words choked in her throat as soon as she saw that his serious look from before had softened some. Before she even realized what was happening, tears were streaming down her face and she blurted desperately,

"I-I-I didn't mean to! It's all m-my f-fault…I sh-should've listened to P-Padma and ignored B-Boot, b-but I…the spell…it h-h-hit him hard and—"

She couldn't finish which only made her sob harder as she furiously wiped her eyes but the tears wouldn't stop falling. She only began to quiet down when a gentle hand patted her shoulder.

"There, there, Noah—if I may call you that—take this," she heard Dumbledore say.

Through blurry eyes, she saw the handkerchief he held out to her and took it with trembling hands.

"Very well, Ms. Run," Flitwick said simply, "I've heard a similar story from your housemates as well. And I must admit I'm not only disappointed to have several of my Ravenclaws fighting amongst each other, but for them to engage in magical dueling is most disturbing."

She nodded, meeting his eyes again even though she only wanted to look at the floor. It was too painful to hear his calm voice and she almost wished he was angrier.

"I'm s-sorry, sir. I promise not to let it happen again. But please don't expel me!" The words rushed from her lips before she could stop herself, which caused Flitwick to raise his hand before she could say anything else.

Then Dumbledore took a step back and waited for her to slowly raise her gaze to meet his blue one.

"Calm yourself, Noah, you won't be expelled. However…" He let the pause hang in the air for a moment. "I wish to impress upon you the gravity of your actions. Dueling is not a game and you and Mr. Boot not only put yourselves at risk, but your friends as well. Magic is a dangerous force when used carelessly and it should not be used to fight petty quarrels. Is that clear?"

Noah gulped and nodded. "Y-Y-Yes, Headmaster, s-sir."

In no time, his smile returned and had a soothing effect on her even though her hands were still shaking.

"Good. Now, please dry your tears. Everything will be all right," he said.

She nodded again and turned back to Flitwick who was stifling a yawn before he straightened himself.

"So, Ms. Run…Professor McGonagall informed me earlier you already have a detention with her, correct?"

Noah felt her cheeks burn hotly at the reminder. She glanced at Dumbledore, who quirked an eyebrow while fighting back a small smile.

"I'm afraid I'll have to add on another," said Flitwick. "It's only your first night here so let this be a warning. Understood?"

Noah was more than eager to agree. She'd happily go to detention every day if it meant she could stay at Hogwarts.

"All right then. It's late, so I believe it's time we all go to bed, wouldn't you agree, Albus?" Flitwick stretched and hopped off his chair, causing only the top of his head to be visible as he walked around.

"Very much so, Filius. Noah and I will be on our way. Sleep well, my friend!" Dumbledore replied cheerfully.

He glided towards the door and held it open for the younger Ravenclaw. She bowed her head as she walked through.

"Come, Ms. Run!" Dumbledore said cheerfully, clapping his wrinkled hands together. "Allow me to walk you back to Ravenclaw Tower."

"Y-Y-Yes, sir. Th-Thank y-you."

And as if they were old friends, Noah and the headmaster ventured through the castle corridors. Noah stayed silent, her heart drumming against her chest. Not even her dad had been this close to Dumbledore in all his seven years at Hogwarts, yet here she was walking beside him as he hummed one random tune after another. If he wasn't doing that, he was politely greeting the ghosts that drifted by or one of the portraits that was still awake. Just before they rounded a corner where the familiar riddle-door to Ravenclaw Tower was located, Dumbledore stopped.

"Noah, please stay a moment," he called.

Noah doubled back over to him, her stomach twisting into knots as she wondered to what the headmaster wanted with her now. Or if he had changed his mind about kicking her out after all.

"S-S-Sir?"

"How are you? Feeling a bit better, I hope?" said Dumbledore.

She let her gaze fall to the floor. "Y-Yes. I…here's your h-handkerchief back." She reached into her pocket and held the soggy cloth out, but he only chuckled.

"You keep it. I only want to tell you something."

Biting her lip, she waited for his next words.

Dumbledore leaned forward, his eyes twinkling. "While tonight's events are most unfortunate, I don't want you to let this determine the rest of your time here at Hogwarts, Noah. I can see just by how upset you are that you truly didn't mean to hurt anyone. To me, that is a sign of someone with a kind heart. Understand?"

Noah didn't know what to say, so she nodded again. She had the keen feeling that Dumbledore wanted to say more, but the old man merely smiled and patted her shoulder.

"Wonderful! I hope you will always keep that in mind. Now, off to bed! Tomorrow is a new day after all."

 **O0O0O0O**

The headmaster's words did help and Noah found herself looking forward to the start of a new day even after Padma blatantly ignored her morning greeting and left the room with her nose high in the air.

"She told us she's not talking to you anymore right now," Mandy said quietly.

"Oh…" was all Noah could say.

"But did you really break Terry Boot's arm last night?" Lisa asked, hopping onto Padma's bed.

Both girls leaned in close with wide eyes which made Noah's breath catch in her throat. Instead of answering, she turned and gathered some clean clothes and toiletries from her trunk. Then she turned back to them, but kept her eyes on her feet.

"Can you…j-just t-tell Padma I'm s-s-sorry for getting h-her into t-trouble?"

Then she hurried off to take her shower.

When she sat down at her House table, many of her housemates burst into furious whispers among themselves. A few of them cast her sideways glances, but then quickly looked away. Further down, Michael an Anthony were engaged in a deep conversation with a group of other Ravenclaws, occasionally tilting their heads in Noah's direction.

She tried to pretend like she didn't notice and became very fascinated with mashing her eggs and potatoes together in her plate. She didn't feel like eating anyway with her split lip throbbing every time she opened her mouth.

"Noah!" barked a shrill, familiar voice.

She startled to attention, but quickly regretted it when she saw Hermione's horrified expression as she stood in front of her. Noah unsuccessfully tried to suck in her bottom lip while looking anywhere else but her bushy-haired friend.

"Er, mornin'," she greeted awkwardly, wishing that she didn't look like she had nearly lost a wizard's duel. "I-I don't know if you're allowed t-to sit at our table, y'know…"

But Hermione frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. "Don't try and change the subject, Noah. Is it true? Did you really get into a fight last night?" she asked, frowning disapprovingly.

"Yes, she did!" Padma interrupted irritably two chairs down. "Even after I told her not to. And she nearly got me expelled!"

Noah wanted to glare at her for making the situation worse, but she was distracted when Hermione shuffled into the seat next to her.

" _Expelled?_ " Hermione nearly shrieked. "I can't believe it! They can't! I'm sure the headmaster would—"

She jumped to her feet but Noah quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her back down.

"Hermione, stop!" Noah even surprised herself at her abrupt answer and she quickly muttered an apology to the stunned Gryffindor. "Look, no one got expelled. I'm all right." She looked her friend in the eye to silently convey her seriousness.

Hermione still didn't look very happy but she sighed with relief before grabbing a napkin off the table and reaching over to press it against Noah's swollen lip, making the other girl wince.

"Oww…"

"Oh, shush. You should have listened to Padma and stayed in bed last night. What did you expect me to do if you left school?"

"I-I know. S-Sorry…"

Finally, Hermione's face softened and she squeezed Noah's hand lightly. "Just be careful. I hate seeing you hurt like this. You ought to go see the nurse."

"I'm fine. _Really_."

"Ms. Granger, Ms. Run," came a curt voice.

Noah gulped when she found herself looking up at McGonagall whose eyes seemed to automatically spot her fresh bruises.

"Good morning, Professor," Hermione greeted her cheerfully.

McGonagall only nodded in reply but even for that moment a rare, tender smile tugged at her lips. But it disappeared instantly when she focused on Noah, who stayed quiet and did her best not to look back at her.

"Ms. Run, I'm here to tell you that your _first_ detention is at seven o'clock tonight in my classroom. Bring your writing utensils and your transfiguration textbook. Don't be late," she explained, an edge in her voice on the last statement.

Noah nodded feverishly. "Y-Yes…Ma'am," she croaked.

She could feel the woman's eyes on her for several agonizing seconds until she heard her footsteps marching away.

Then the bell rang signaling that it was time for first period.

* * *

 _A/N: Another chapter done! I'm sorry for the long wait but thank you to everyone who's added this story to their follows and favorites. Constructive criticism is always welcome—I'm trying to rework the plot since story itself isn't too far along and I have room to make changes. Thanks for reading!_


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